I.
INTRODUCTION
A. Introduction
The Enlightenment is a period during the 18th C.
Reason was advocated as the primary source and
legitimacy for authority.
Lecture 18:
Romanticism and Existentialism
Reason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition,
and tyranny and to build a better world.
Principal targets of Enlightenment Philosophy were religion and
the social domination by a hereditary aristocracy.
Enlightenment political influence was strong
The signatories of the American Declaration of
Independence, the United States Bill of Rights, the French
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and
the Polish-Lithuanian Constitution were motivated by
"Enlightenment" principles.
I.
INTRODUCTION
B. Romanticism
Romanticism and existentialism were reactions
to and criticisms of the ideas of the philosophy
of the Enlightenment.
Romanticisms
Romanticism was more a widespread movement,
both in its origins and influence than the
Enlightenment.
No other intellectual/artistic movement has had
comparable variety, reach, and staying power since
the end of the Middle Ages.
I.
INTRODUCTION
B. Romanticism
Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and
intellectual movement.
It originated in later18th C. in Europe, and
strengthened during the Industrial Revolution.
It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and
political norms of the Age of Enlightenment. It was also a
reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature
It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts,
music, and literature.
The movement stressed strong emotion as a source of
aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on emotions
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I.
INTRODUCTION
B. Romanticism
It was a popularist movement
It elevated folk art and custom to something noble.
I.
INTRODUCTION
C. Existentialism
Existentialism applied to the work of a number
of 19th and 20th century philosophers
They took the human subject as a starting point for
philosophical thought.
Argued for a "natural" epistemology of human activities
as conditioned by nature in the form of language, custom
and usage.
Realism was polar opposite to Romanticism.
Broader than the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling,
living human individual and his or her conditions of
existence
Romanticism elevated achievements of heroic
individuals and artists who altered society.
Existential philosophy is the "explicit conceptual
manifestation of an existential attitude“
Legitimized individual imagination as a critical authority
which permitted freedom from classical art forms.
There was a strong recourse to historical and natural
inevitability.
II.
ROMATICISM
A. Jean Jacques Rousseau
Jean Jacques Rousseau (17121778)
Father of Romanticism
Rousseau emphasized feelings in
contrast to reason as the important
guiding force in human nature.
It is a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of
an apparently meaningless or absurd world.
Traditional academic philosophy was too abstract and
remote from concrete human experience.
II.
ROMATICISM
A. Jean Jacques Rousseau
Social Nature of Humans
Humans are, by nature, social
animals who wished to live in
harmony with other humans.
The general will is what is best within a
community and should be sharply
distinguished from an individual’s will.
The best guide for human conduct is a
person’s honest feelings and
inclinations.
Suggested that education should take
advantage of natural impulses rather
than distort them.
For Rousseau, humans are basically
good – born good but are made bad
by societal institutions.
Educational institutions should create a
situation in which a child’s natural
abilities and interests can be nurtured.
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II.
ROMATICISM
B. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749 -1832)
II.
ROMATICISM
B. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Psychology
Was a German writer and considered
Germany's greatest man of letters.
Goethe's works span the fields of
poetry, drama, literature, theology,
philosophy, humanism and science.
He was a polymath
Best known for the novel Faust.
He was author of the scientific text on
colors and he influenced Darwin by his
work on plant morphology.
II.
ROMATICISM
B. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Psychology
Goethe insisted that intact,
meaningful psychological
experience should be the object
of study, rather than meaningless
isolated sensations
Was an early phenomenologist.
Goethe proposed a theory of
evolution before Darwin
Used a form of what is now
called behavior therapy.
Goethe viewed humans as being
torn by the stresses and conflicts
of life.
Life consisted of opposing forces,
love and hate, life and death, good
and evil.
The goal of life should be to
embrace these forces rather than to
deny or overcome them.
These themes were picked up by
Freud and quickly became a part
of psychoanalytic theory.
II.
ROMATICISM
C. Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 –
1860)
German philosopher who examined
whether reason alone can unlock
answers about the world.
He emphasized the role of man's basic
motivation, which he called will.
His analysis led him to the conclusion
that emotional, physical, and sexual
desires can never be fulfilled.
Consequently, Schopenhauer favored a
lifestyle of negating human desires,
similar to Buddhism and Vedanta.
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II.
ROMATICISM
C. Arthur Schopenhauer
Will
Equated Kant’s noumenal world
(things in themselves in nature)
with “will” – a blind force which
cannot be known.
In humans, this force manifests
itself in the will to survive.
This will to survive causes an
unending cycle of needs and need
satisfaction.
II.
ROMATICISM
C. Arthur Schopenhauer
“Almost all our sufferings spring
from having to do with others”
Felt that the intelligent humans
suffer the most.
Intelligent people seek solitude while
the common people are gregarious.
For the intelligent, solitude has two
advantages
Can be alone with his or her own
thoughts,
Prevents needing to deal with
intellectually inferior people.
II.
ROMATICISM
C. Arthur Schopenhauer
Most human behavior is
irrational
An unending series of pains due to
unsatisfied need which causes us
to act to satisfy the need
This is followed by a brief
experience of satisfaction
(pleasure)
This is followed again by another
need to be satisfied, and on it
goes.
II.
ROMATICISM
C. Arthur Schopenhauer
A way of looking at life is as the
postponement of death.
People do not cling to life because
it is pleasant, rather, they cling to
life because they fear death.
Wrote of positive and negative
impulses, the unconscious,
repression, and resistance
Also had a strong influence on
Freud.
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III. EXISTENTIALISM
A. Introduction
Existentialism
Stressed the meaning of human existence, freedom
of choice, and the uniqueness of each individual.
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
A. Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard (May 1813 1855)
A prolific 19th century Danish
philosopher and theologian.
The most important aspects of humans are their
personal, subjective interpretations of life and the
choices they make in light of those interpretations.
Much of his work deals with religious
themes such as faith in God, the
institution of the Church, Christian
ethics and theology, and the emotions
and feelings of individuals when faced
with life choices.
Existentialism emerged as a movement in 20 C.
literature and philosophy.
It was foreshadowed most notably by nineteenthcentury philosophers Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich
Nietzsche.
Although there are some common tendencies amongst
"existentialist" thinkers, there are major differences and
disagreements among them.
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
A. Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Religion
As noted, he was an outspoken critic
of organized religion.
He believed the most meaningful
relationship with God was one that
was personal and not dictated by the
church.
Truth
Truth is subjective: What a person
believes privately and emotionally.
Truth cannot be taught logically,
truth must be experienced.
Widely considered the first
existentialist
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
A. Søren Kierkegaard
The approximation of personal
freedom occurs in stages.
Aesthetic stage
People are open to many types of
experiences, and do not recognize
their ability to choose.
Live on a hedonistic level.
Ethical stage
People accept responsibility for
making choices but use as their
guide ethical principles established
by others.
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II.
EXISTENTIALISM
A. Søren Kierkegaard
The approximation of personal
freedom occurs in stages.
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
(1844 –1900).
Religious stage
19 C. German philosopher.
People recognize and accept their
freedom and have a personal
relationship with God.
He wrote critical texts on religion,
morality, contemporary culture,
philosophy, and science.
The nature of the relationship is personal.
His influence remains substantial
within and beyond philosophy,
notably in existentialism and
postmodernism.
People at this stage see possibilities in
life that usually run contrary to
convention, and tend to be
nonconformists.
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Philosophy
Questioned the value and
objectivity of truth
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Nietzche proposed two aspects
of human nature:
His key ideas include the
interpretation of tragedy as an
affirmation of life,
He rejected Platonism and
repudiated both Christianity and
egalitarianism (especially in the
form of democracy and socialism).
Appollonian aspect
Resulted in much commentary and
interpretation
Rational side
Desire for tranquility,
predictability and orderliness.
Dionysian aspect
Irrational side
Attraction to creative chaos and to
passionate, dynamic, experiences.
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II.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
He believed the Western
philosophy had emphasized the
intellect and minimized the
human passions
II.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Believed that because of
human actions, we had, in
essence, made God “dead.”
Philosophers and scientists who
killed God took purpose from the
universe and stripped humans of
any special place in the world.
Convictions are thought to
reflect truth, but cause fanaticism
Result was lifeless rationalism
Urged a fusion of the two
aspects
Not a totally irrational, passionate
life but a life of reasonable
passion.
II.
Opinions are tentative,
challengeable, and easily modified
in light of new information.
EXISTENTIALISM
B. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
All people have a will to power
To control one’s life, tendency to
gain mastery over one’s self and
one’s destiny.
Supermen are people who are
approaching their full potential
because standard morality does not
govern their lives
This was misused by the Nazi
party who claimed that the
German people were these
supermen.
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